HTC Rhyme Launched, To Arrive in Verizon Stores Next Week, in U.K. in October

Yesterday in New York, HTC has official announced its new mid-ranged smartphone with a feminine twist and style–the HTC Rhyme–to be released on Verizon Wireless this month.

The HTC Rhyme (formerly codenamed the HTC Bliss) will be on Verizon’s shelves starting September 29 with a price of US$199 (on a two-year contract).

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Meanwhile, folks in the U.K. will be able to get their HTC Rhyme through phone retailer O2, which has confirmed that it will be releasing the phone in the U.K. this coming October 17.

The HTC Rhyme is also expected to reach Europe and Asia in October and could come in a variety of colors (e.g., silver, mocha, blue–in addition to plum).

The Rhyme runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and has the following specs:

3.7-inch WVGA display

3.5-mm headset jack

5-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash

HTC Sense 3.5 user interface

single-core 1.0-GHz Qualcomm S2 MSM8655 processor

768 MB of RAM

phoneArena.com got the chance to witness the HTC Rhyme launching in New York and had a chance to play hands-on with the device.

According to phoneArena.com’s report, the HTC Rhyme has a solid metallic casing and soft touch patches,and its plum-purple color makes the Rhyme stand out from the usual gunmetal and white colors on other HTC handsets.

The device is said to be lightweight and compact in form, and reportedly feels good in the hand. phoneArena.com describes the experience as that of a “sense of premium feel.”

HTC has preloaded its customized HTC Sense 3.5 user interface onto the HTC Rhyme, together with a new dynamic widget combining things like your mail, messages, calendar, and pictures.

Included right out of the box is the Charm cable, which is a protruding cube that flashes when a message or a call comes in. This will help users detect incoming calls or messages when the phone is placed in the bag or in the pocket.

Other accessories included inside the box are a docking station, armband, and Bluetooth headset–all dressed in the same color as the handset’s.

The HTC Rhyme is one more welcome addition to HTC’s growing portfolio of mid-range Android smartphones. What HTC smartphone suits your style?